Weightloss: The Toughest Upcycling Project Ever!

My goal is to lose 55 lbs. in 11 months.  I'm down 33 lbs., so I have 22 lbs. to go with only 8 weeks left! 

I'm highly motivated, but evidently, I don't lose weight like I did when I was young...  Evidently, menopause has changed everything...

So....on to plan D:  Plan A was 1,500 calories and walking 3 times a week.  Plan B was 1,200 calories and walking 3 times a week.  Plan C was 1,200 calories and walking 5 miles a day 5 days a week.  Here's the new complex plan for women over 50!!!  Yikes!

Plan D:

1.  1,200 calories of thoughtful eating.  Concentrate on eating a lot of vegetables, high-fiber fruit, dairy and whole-grains.  In moderation, eat lean meat like chicken, fish and pork.  Eat small amounts of "good" fats.  Never eat processed food!!!  Eating six times a day will remind my body to keep working - keeping the metabolism up!  Evidently, Vitamin D, Calcium, Iron and Magnesium are important to me now!  This diet should also regulate my insulin hormone.

2.  Get 10,000 steps a day avoiding lengthy spells of sitting. Move, move, move.  If I don't get 10,000 steps, a leisurely walk in the evening will get me there.  The movement will also help the metabolism stay up!

3.  Focused exercise!  To avoid Sarcopenia, age-related muscle loss, I need weight training at least twice a week.  So, using the HIIT method, High Intensity Interval Training, I can give those muscles a good workout.  My workouts need to be about 45 to one hour long at a designated time of the day. I can rotate upper body, lower body, cardio and add stretching.  Good muscles will support my old bones and lengthen my life!  

4.  Avoid stress to reduce the Cortisol hormone!  A big part of my life has been stressful!  Until recently, I was waking up several times in the middle of night as I watched over my Mother, but now I can take measures to get a good rest and a good night's sleep.  I can add meditation, yoga and relaxation exercises to enhance this.  

5.  Drink plenty of water!  Not water in coffee, tea or juice.  Real water!  haha  At this age, I need to avoid getting dehydrated!

I feel like I'm missing something because this is much more complex than just creating a calorie deficit!  

When I get down to my goal weight for my weight loss challenge on Healthywage.com, I'll continue with a new 30 lb. goal to get to a normal weight for my age.  Hopefully, I'll make great habits and the lifestyle will be my new normal!  

Motivation can always be found on the Peptalkapp.com, so that will always be in my ear!  

If I don't get to my immediate goal weight in time, there's a little safety net that will allow me an extra six months to finish up.  I do not want to use the extra time!  So....let's do this!

Who knew weight loss would be this hard at this age!  Over 50.....Uhhhhhggggg!

Weight Loss & Cancer: An Upcycling Challenge

I'm beginning to question my ability to lose the last 22 lbs. for my weight-loss challenge on Healthywage.com.  Healthywage is an app where you can combine gambling with weight loss.  Money is a great incentive to lose weight, right?  It has been for me!  To date, I've lost 33 lbs.!  

On the app, all you have to do is make a wager on a weight-loss plan you think you can accomplish.  I said I could lose five lbs. per month for 11 months.  I was so sure, I bet $100 a month for a total $1,100, ending on August 25, 2019.  Five lbs. per month sounds like a slow weight-loss goal and, I've seen people spend more than $100 a month on shakes, exercise equipment and weight loss gimmicks, so why not?

At my age, though, my metabolism is in slow motion!!!  I've lost on average, three lbs. per month for nine months...  Now, I need to lose two lbs. per week to reach my destination.  I have eleven (+2) weeks to go.  There's a two week weigh-in period, so that's why the +2.  I want to be below my goal weight before the first day of weigh in, though.  It's hard to wrap my head around two lbs. per week.  It's been more than 15 years since I've tried to lose weight and I don't ever remember making a goal of losing 55 lbs. Sigh....

Why did it take so long for me to challenge myself?  Well, to be honest, I didn't think I would live this long...

In 2004, at the age of 39, I was diagnosed with stage III breast cancer.  At stage III, there's a possibility that the tumor is metastasized, so everyone, especially me, was unsure if it would come back in a new area.  My Aunt Mary had breast cancer and lost her battle within eight years after it travelled to other areas of her body.  Then, I watched my good friend, Judy Cox, struggle and lose the battle at around five years after the initial diagnosis.  Doctors will tell you they don't consider you in remission until after year five.  Judy had gone four years and 11 months when she found out it had gone to her brain. 

Cancer is an ugly and unpredictable battle.  It plays mind games with you!  For a long time, I thought if I started losing weight, it meant the cancer had returned.  I was actually scared of losing weight!  I ate to fight cancer....and to feel the comfort from food.

So....there I was last year...about 80 lbs. overweight and well beyond the five-year survival clock.  After each year, I celebrated on the anniversary day of my diagnosis because it's such a gift to be given another year.  I've been loving my family, my work, and my surroundings, but one thing was missing.  I wasn't really loving myself.  There was no investment in me because I didn't have a guarantee I would be here for long.  So last year (year 14), I changed that.  I made this particular challenge to get me going and make it interesting.

So now what?  It's interesting and it's crunch time!  I have a mere eleven weeks to accomplish my goal and I'm scared of screwing it up!  I've reduced my calories twice, currently at 1,200 calories per day.  But the weight was not moving fast enough!  So, new plan, new plan!  I have to walk this weight off.

I started walking last year, but only about 20 to 30 minutes three times a week and, I have to admit, I've slacked off of that within the last two months.  

My new plan is to walk three to five miles a day with rest every third day.  That should be five days of walking and two days of rest per week.  Today, however, I read that my muscles will start building, so I might not lose weight!  Uhhhhggggg!  One article says it takes a good eight weeks to build muscle.  My results are going to seam stagnate for eight weeks, but the battle will still be going on and the mind games continue!!!

I have to keep going and I hope you'll send me tips and cheer me on for this upcycling journey of mine!  From what I understand, in the next eight weeks it will seem like I'm not getting anywhere, but I need to continue to lose the weight in a healthy way.  If I stopped walking, then the weight loss would just be because of starvation and that's not good!

To battle the mind games, I have a peaceful road to walk and, with my phone tucked in my exercise pants, I can listen to my Peptalks.  Believe me, I need a good Peptalk every single day!  In my youth, it was my sister who gave me pep talks, especially for sports.  She was my motivation!  But I can't expect her to jump in to motivate me like that anymore!  She has children and grandchildren to motivate now!  Her words, however, live through many of the Peptalks I listen to now.  I can listen to them over and over and get the same feeling I got from her!  I hope she realizes she made a big difference in my life and now I know where to go to get that feeling again. What a gift she gave me!  

I keep telling myself, I can do this!  I know about nutrition and I know about exercise....I just need motivation and a plan.  So here's my plan.

1,200 calories a day
3 to 5 miles a day, 5 days a week
daily Peptalks

Go me!  I'm gonna do this!  The struggle is real, but I'm gonna do this!  

The Final (weight loss) Countdown

At 53, weight loss is tough!!!  

I've been working on losing my goal of 55 lbs. since October of last year.  I reduced my calories to 1,500 calories a day and started walking, losing about four lbs. per month for about six months.  When I stopped losing, I reduced my calories again and now live off of 1,200 calories per day; when I'm good!  I still walk, but have to admit, my walking is not consistent.  My next (small) weight loss challenge ends in four days and it doesn't look like I'm gonna meet my small goal...again.

I was hoping I would have done better in my slow and methodical weight loss plan, but my body barely responds to what I'm doing.  In fact, I've gained a couple of lbs. this week, so I still have 24 lbs. to go... So frustrating!

I'm on the last two months of my big challenge, so I'm going to have to ramp things up, Big Time!  My calories are already as low as they can go to be healthy, so it's going to be exercise that pulls me through.  Uhhggg!  If you know me, I really don't care for exercise.  It's going to be walking every day with intermittent jogging while pushing as much as possible for more jogging time. I walk about a mile and a half a day (when I walk), so it's gonna have to be more!   

I'm pushed into a corner guys!  I HAVE to do this!  I put my money on the line and that wager is the biggest motivation I've had to lose weight in years!  I can do this!  I can lose 24 lbs. in two months.  That's an average of three lbs. a week; very doable!  Contestants lost more than that on the Biggest Loser, right?  

I'll be concentrating on this with lot's of Peptalks in my ear!  Watch out folks, I'm on a mission!

How to Make T-Shirt Yarn

What's your system for dealing with unwanted clothing?  We just had a yard sale, so I pulled some items from our drawers and closets to sell. $$ Ka-Ching! What didn't sell, went to the local Goodwill donation center.

While finding things for the sale, I also found things I didn't think would ever sell!  Some of our t-shirts had holes and stains and surely nobody would ever want anything like that, so I put them in a separate pile.  

Now that the yard sale is over, I got back to the pile.  Normally, I use old beat-up shirts for rags, but I have plenty of those, so I went a different route this time - t-shirt yarn!  My Granddaughter and I had a big time with this project yesterday.  Look at her go!  All we need now is a bigger crochet hook and I'll be set for some cool t-shirt yarn projects!

Let's run through the steps so you can get this free crafting resource!

Step 1:  Fold your t-shirt in half (down the middle) and cut off the top right below the arms.  Also cut off the bottom hem.

Step 2:  Fold the remaining t-shirt fabric almost in half, leaving about two inches difference.  To make my life easier, I folded it twice, with one side two inches longer.  The fold is on the length of the fabric again, leaving raw edges on opposite ends.  It's okay if it's a little uneven. 

Step 3:  Cut about 3/4 to 1 inch strips from one of the raw edged through the thickest folds, leaving the two inches (and last fold) alone.  Continue cutting until you reach the other raw edge.  I got a little excited and ended up with a heap at the end!

Step 4:  Find the fold that you left uncut and open it up.  From the first cut, continue cutting while crossing over the second cut on the opposite side (diagonally).  It was easier for me to do this cut first, then I cut from the edge to the first cut - see picture.  Continue on cutting diagonally from one cut to the other.  By the end, I had another giant heap!  haha  After finding the end, I was able to see I had one continuous stream about 3/4 to 1 inch wide.

Step 5:  Pull the continuous stream of fabric, stretching it just a bit.  When you let go, the edges are curled together making a thick material to make things with.

Step 6:  Roll it up into a ball.

Step 7 (optional):  I like using up everything I can, so I cut the sleeves and back off as well.  Use the fronts too, if it doesn't have a heavy screen print or iron on.  With these pieces, I couldn't get a continuous stream like I did on the big part of the t-shirt, so I went for shorter strands.  I don't know what I'll use them for yet, but I have them....just in case!  

I hope you can use this short tutorial!  More importantly, I hope you recycle and upcycle your waste!  Turn your Peptalk on and get going!  If we all continue to make small differences in our lives, together, we'll make a big difference!  

TAG SALE TIPS

Hi Peeps!

I only have one pair of pants left to wear to my tag sale tomorrow!  Why?  Because it takes a lot of work getting ready for one of these things and I'm too tired to get my clothes washed!  I'm worn out and sore from all the walking back and forth tagging the items I want to sell!  I think I've also worn out the Peptalk app trying to get into the right frame of mind to keep me going!  

Today, I'm taking it easy though, so maybe I'll wash those clothes tonight.  It's Tag Sale Eve!  I thought it would help to rest before the big day! In today's post, I want to share with you what I do to get ready for a tag sale.  There are many things to think about, because it's basically like setting up a one-day store!   Hope you consider these tips for your next sale.

1. Start Early: Get a running start by stock piling the things you don't need in your life any more!  Designate a corner in one of your rooms and pile it up.  Work often interrupts this process and many people are stressed the day before because they didn't have time to pull things earlier.  If you're working, start even earlier! I think a month prior gives you a great head start.
2. Tag Items:  I know this is tedious....I know.  But I would rather think about the price I want before I'm rushed by the mob!  Tagging items prior to the sale reduces the questions on the day of the sale allowing you to serve more people.  I start tagging a week prior to the sale and price to sell!
3. Use Preprinted Tags:  To save time, companies have started producing preprinted tags.  The little stickers are easy to pull off and just place it on the item.  I remember the good old days when I have to stop and write on my masking tape before I tore it off the roll.  In fact, I think I had a masking-tape bracelet and an ink-pen hair piece for days!  Anyway, preprinted tags will save lots of time.
4. Make a Great Sign: It's hard to sell anything when they can't find you!  If you are not on a main road, make a sign to post on the main road.  Be sure to put your address so they can google the location and an arrow can point them in the right direction.
5. Advertise:  Facebook is a wonderful way to announce to your community that you're having a sale.  In the olden days, we advertised in the newspaper at a cost.  The power of the Internet is certainly at play here!  Be sure to add a cute clip-art for eye appeal, the time, date and location.
   
6. Prepare Food the Day Before:  Since I have everything marked, I'll be making some snacks today to have available for tomorrow.  I think I'll fix some finger foods like pinwheels, sandwiches, cut veggies and cookies.  I'll also have my ice chest ready with water.  I have three reasons why I do this:  1)  I dislike spending my hard earned money on food for the day - it's so expensive to eat out!  2) I might not get a chance to go get something.  You never know how busy it'll be.  and 3)  It's a great time to have a picnic with the friends and family you're having a sale with.
7. Think About Displaying Your Items:  Make sure you have plenty of surfaces to place your items on so your customers don't have to bend over to look at things.  If you don't have tables, think of ways you can make the surfaces.  We're bringing the saw horses and wood to make a table and also using a feed trough that we'll put a board on top of for another surface.  We also have a rack made out of metal pipe to hang our clothing.  Think outside the box when it comes to your display!
8. Bring Supplies: I like to have everything I need readily accessible.  Here's some things I have handy:  Newspaper or tissue to wrap breakables, plastic sacks (recycled from previous store purchases), boxes, extra tags, pens, pencils, markers, calculator, tape measure, hammer, screwdriver, tape, notebook, a chair to sit in, your premade food, water, and lots of change.  You also may need a canopy, tarp or umbrella to shield you from the sun.
9. Write Sales Down:  I like to write everything down because my memory is gone!  But, seriously, writing things down helps you separate the money later, if you're selling with others. Sometime, I just pull the sticker off and stick it to my notebook to add them up.   Don't worry about separating the list until after the sale.  Your customer is the most important at the time of the sale, so add their items up on the notebook.  Put an initial of the person the item belonged to and later separate the items out to get a total for each seller.
10. Be Early On the Day of the Sale:  Have you ever had a sale that starts at 8am and people show up at 7am?  I have.  It's so frustrating for people to be looking through your stuff as you pull it out. I even changed my time to 10am and they still showed up at 7 am!!!   Not only are they looking at things as you pull them out, they try to talk you down from the price you posted or ask a ton of questions, interrupting your work.  It would be so nice to just open the doors, but all my sales have been in the yard.  So, if you can't open the doors, show up early.  If I have a sale that is supposed to start at 8am, I show up at 5am and pull things out until 7am, thus being ready for the early birds!  I also sit down and cool off before a crowd gathers!
11. Be Prepared to Negotiate:  It's a sale, so be prepared for people trying to get a good deal!  You're not selling things new, so be flexible.  You're clearing things out of your house to make room for newer items!  
12. Add Variety:  Invite friends and family to sell with you!  Their stuff will make the sale look huge and people love that!  Give your customers plenty to look at.  Variety is always an attraction to get people to stop.  You'll see them driving by slowly and only stopping if there's something interesting to them!
    
13. Have Fun:  I hope you're not too tired to have some fun!  Laughter is the best medicine for just about anything!  Bring music, decorate and enjoy the food you made the day before!  If your friends and family are there, enjoy the day with them!
14. Tally Sales:  If you are working together with others, tally the sales at the end of the sale.  It gets confusing if you try to separate the sales during the sale; too many interruptions!  Designate one person to tally while the others are packing up the remaining items.  Sit down together and separate the money.  Yeah!  You have cash!
15. Remove Tags:  I remove tags after the sale because I dislike the little sticky mark it leaves if it's been on there for a long time. 
16. Donate:  I like to donate the remaining items to a non-profit like Goodwill or Salvation Army.  Donations are a great tax write off and now you have that space you used for stockpiling freed up!  Win, Win!

I hope these tips help you out for your next sale!  Have fun and sell, sell, sell!  I hope you make lots of money to go out to eat when you feel fabulous and look great!

  

The Bunkhouse

I want to give a shout out to my favorite upcycle/refurbish shop in Coalgate, The Bunkhouse!  

Elaine Lewis has started some new endeavors this year and, therefore, is not open every day to meet my every need!  But you can visit this lovely store on the first weekend of the month.  She works on new pieces all month and showcases them all at once.  Beyond that, she is working on commissioned house projects and staging houses on the real estate market, so Elaine keeps very, very busy!  

Here's a look at the shop from this month.

The quality of her work is outstanding and she has a keen eye on great upcycles.  Here's a few closer views.

So, next time you're in town at the first of the month, try out The Bunkhouse!  You'll love the store and the owner!  If you can't make it during the new store hours, take a look at her Facebook page here!

Little Ugly Table

Took a minute to paint this little gem.  It's a handmade table that a friend of mine gave me years ago.  I let it sit on my porch for a few years, mainly because I couldn't find the time or energy to do anything with it, so I decided to fix it up this week.

Look at the age on this thing!  It's a really solid piece with aging wood.

I cleaned it up with a rag and sanded a few rough edges before painting it with the remnants of my Duck Egg chalk paint.

I'm so surprised I got so many things painted with this paint.  Surprisingly, I think I have a few more projects I can get out of that pint of paint!

After it dried, I pulled some of the color off with a wet rag and a little sandpaper.  I waxed the entire piece with a black wax to deepen the color and give it that silky sheen.

What a perfect little accent for any room! 

It sold within the week, so on to the next little project!!

Weightloss - Upcycling Me!

Happy to report I'm losing again!  Weight that is!  

I'm in another short challenge on HealthyWage.com, ending in the middle of June.  I'm pretty close to finishing up another 10 lbs.! I decided during the last small challenge that I would continue the small challenges, win or lose, to try to keep me on track for the big challenge.  My big challenge is to lose 55 lbs. in 9 months with a reward of about $2,700!

The sad thing is, although I've lost 30 lbs., I'm still fat!  haha  

But, ohhhh, I feel so much better!  ….and that's what I'm working for, right?  I don't want to die of obesity!  I want to lose this weight so I can see all my grandchildren and run around with my sisters on cruises and snoozes! 

With water in hand and Peptalk in ear, I can do this!  

Out of Town Fun!

I’m in Dallas this week celebrating with my sisters. My middle sister got a recent promotion at work, so we’re celebrating her success! She’s always been driven and even drove me (crazy) when we were kids! A lot of the things she said to motivate me to get moving can be found on the easy-to-use app Peptalk.  She’s implemented so many positive strategies in her life and they’re really paying off!

In years past, we’ve gone on trips with the Sister’s cruise being a highlight! At our age, it’s jokingly called the sister’s snooze! We did, however, spend the day on a shopping spree where we found some really neat things!

Here’s to my sister’s! My oldest sister retires in November! Sounds like another celebration weekend is right around the corner! 

On Climate Change

I’ve been watching a lot of climate change videos on YouTube lately and have a couple of opinions.

First, I agree with people that say climate change is a natural occurrence and comes in cycles; a natural phenomenon.  It’s historical and it’s also our future, leaving us with the expectation that it’s going to change soon.  Some say that we’ve made this topic into a political one in their attempt to discredit scientific evidence.  That point can be argued both ways because of the corporate interests on both sides.   But, I don’t place “being political” with this subject as an important reason to dismiss anything.  If it’s changing, we need to get prepared!  We need to know what to expect and how to accommodate our lives accordingly.  I hope we hear more from our leaders about the subject.  Benjamin Disraeli said, “Prepare for the worst, hope for the best.”

Second, I agree with the majority of scientists that say we are helping to perpetuate this natural occurrence of climate change by using fossil fuels, trashing our land, and using certain agricultural methods.  Even if all the scientists are incorrect in their findings, it’s a safe bet to be kind to our land, air and water.  It might be my Native American heart that feels that the earth dies a little every time we do something bad to it.  I know my life has been built around using the products the corporate world places in front of me, but I want to change.  I wonder when government and corporations will start placing this precious gift called Earth at the top of their priority list?  Gretta Thunburg and the students who follow her are an inspiration in their determined efforts to call attention to the subject.

My life is geared toward improvement.  I try to improve my surroundings, myself and my future.  I never claim to be perfect, but I do claim to try harder.  In trying harder, I work at keeping my mind straight by talking with people with positive attitudes, reading uplifting books and articles and listening to things like Peptalk.   I exercise and try to eat right, even though it’s an ongoing challenge!  I believe in recycling and love to upcycle even the smallest of things.  And then, there’s all the planning for the future!  I learned to plan when I turned 20 and haven’t quit yet!  I like to research, budget and estimate for my long list of goals.  Do I always reach those goals?  No!  But I sure love trying.

I hope more and more people will consider climate change and the devastating affects it could have on us.  I hope we all take steps to do better, to take care of the land that supports us.  I hope we can see the corporate greed associated with the burning of fossil fuels and we start using alternative means to live. 

I resigned from my teaching job years ago to be present in my children’s lives.  You know… they only grow up once.  Now is the time to take care of the earth… because ….well, it’s the only one we have.  What do you think?

Table Transformation

Brooke purchased a table at a local auction for a whopping $7 last year!  She's really got a good eye!  We didn't get a before picture, but I found this one online that looks very similar so you can see what we started with. Maybe the legs on our table are a touch bigger.

The table was in great condition and we used it all year long at my house since Brooke had a different table given to her.  Our plan from the beginning, though, was to paint it.

I had some gray and white paint I purchased for a different project.  It's not chalk paint, but a semi-gloss laytex. It came straight from the shelf without mixing in any colors.  I was in a hurry!  Brooke also had some leftover paint from recently painting her walls in her house.  To begin, she painted the legs gray.

Then she sanded the top of the table to rough up the surface for a better grip on the paint.  As you can see, we didn't even move the table out of the dining room!  

So, here's the beautiful part!!!  We drizzled the white, gray and blue paints on top of the table and Brooke swiped it back and forth across the length of the table!  We fell in love with it instantly!

Of course, everyone in the room stood around and tried to give Brooke advice on which way to swipe and blend, but she did her own thing giving it her unique touch!

It works very nicely with my new rug and newly painted china hutch!

She was going to give this table to her sister-in-law.....but now I guess she's just gonna be an "Indian Giver"!  I can say that since we're Native American, right?  

The new plan is for her to bring her table to my house and take this one for her dining room.  The color will match the walls perfectly!  

It was an experiment that worked out really well and was so much fun!  The legs took about an hour to paint and the top (sanding and painting) took another hour …probably because we talk too much!  haha